


Family Vacation

by kathiann



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-26
Updated: 2009-04-18
Packaged: 2017-12-10 06:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/782841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathiann/pseuds/kathiann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lisbon goes on vacation with her family, will an unwanted visitor upset her plans. Just a silly little fic, probably wont be very long, but it will multi-chapter</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is not the sequel to Red Memories, this is just a little fluffy fic that came about while planing my vacation to Disneyland with my kids this summer. It is just a little silly. I have created all of Lisbon's family in this fic. All we know from the show is that Lisbon had brothers and that at least one of them lives back east. So I made up who they are and all that.

Vacation. It was a beautiful word and Teresa Lisbon was enjoying every minute of it. It might not be everyone's ideal vacation, spending a week at Disneyland with three small children, but she rarely got to spend time with her niece and nephews, let alone her brother and his wife, so it was well worth it. She hadn't told anyone from work where she was going to be going. In fact, she hadn't told anyone she was going on vacation at all. She had a good reason for not saying anything. Jane had been even more nosy in the last few months and she had wanted to get away without having to answer all sorts of stupid questions.

She was meeting her brother at the hotel. They had managed to get rooms next door to each other, although her brother assured her that she would not have to share with any of the kids. Apparently, it was the closest hotel you could get to Disneyland, closer even than the Disneyland resorts—her brother had mapped it out.

She had left her blackberry at home, told Minelli to only bother her if the governor was murdered, and had left notes to everyone on the team, including Jane, saying that if they bothered her this week when someone was not dead, they would be when she got back. It should be a nice relaxing vacation.

She pulled into the hotel parking lot and was glad that she was able to quickly find a spot to park. She got out and spotted her brother standing by the office, talking to someone. The sun was shining on the person so she couldn't make out any features, but it appeared to be a man.

She started walking towards them and the kids saw her first. They ran towards her shouting "Aunt Teresa" and "You finally got here." She knelt to give them all a big group hug while her brother and his wife walked more calmly toward her.

"Teresa!" Her brother Andrew called to her. "Why didn't you tell us you were going to have a friend join you this week?"

Lisbon looked up from where she was still kneeling on the sidewalk and gave her brother an odd look. "What do you mean?" As if on cue, the man she had seen Andy speaking with earlier stepped out from behind him.

"Hey, Lisbon, what took you so long?" The man asked with a playful grin on his face.

She looked up in shock. She was going to kill Patrick Jane.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ebony 10 for being my beta, and to everyone who reviewed, it just made my day :)

Lisbon only chatted with her brother for a few minutes. She told him that she really just needed to unwind from her car ride and that she would meet them all by the hotel pool in an hour. She walked toward her hotel room, pretending not to notice that Jane was following her with his bag. She opened the door and was not surprised when he followed her in.

"What are you doing here, Jane?" She asked as soon as the door had closed.

"I haven't been to Disneyland in a long time. I thought it might be fun." He looked around the room. There was only one bed so he placed his bag on the floor next to the chair and sat down.

"How did you get here?" Lisbon asked, clearly exasperated. "I didn't see your car in the parking lot. Besides, I don't think it would make it this far."

Jane ignored the dig at his choice of vehicle and only smiled patiently at her. "I took a plane—first flight I could get."

"Was that before or after you got my message at the office that I was going out of town and was not to be bothered unless someone wanted to be dead?" She turned to glare at him.

"Oh, after, definitely." He seemed to be enjoying her frustration.

"Should I even bother asking how you knew where I was going to be?" She sighed and sat on the bed.

Jane smiled his largest smile at her. "I called your brother and asked what hotel you were staying at. I knew you were going to be at Disneyland. I overheard you on the phone last week talking to your brother. I did wait to actually go into work today to see if you had said anything to anyone. I was a little disappointed that you only left a note to the entire unit and not one to me personally."

"Would you have stayed in Sacramento if I had?" She asked hopefully.

"No, but it still would have been a nice touch." Jane was trying not to laugh at this point.

"I have to have a talk with my brother about giving out personal information over the phone to people he doesn't know." Lisbon grumbled under her breath. She couldn't believe her brother would just tell Jane what hotel they were staying at. What had Jane done? Tell him they were dating? As she was thinking this she saw Jane slowly nodding his head as his grin grew bigger. "No. You wouldn't. How could you say that?"

"It was the best way to get him to tell me. I had to tell him that my coming was going to be a surprise and that you hadn't told me what hotel you were staying in. He's very happy we're dating by the way. He thinks you don't get out enough."

"I'm going to kill him. First you, then him, then you again. I can't believe it." She stood up again and pulled something from her bag, heading to the bathroom. "I hope you brought a swimsuit. The kids seemed to really like you. They'll be expecting you at the pool." She closed the door to the bathroom.

He had not, in fact, brought a swimsuit. He wasn't even sure that he owned one anymore. He didn't know how he was going to get out of swimming. And he liked Lisbon's niece and nephews. He looked over at the bedside table and saw Lisbon's car keys sitting there. "I'm borrowing your car, Lisbon!" he called so that she could hear him in the bathroom.

To his surprise she threw open the bathroom door and stuck her head out. "You are going to do nothing of the sort, Jane. Put those keys down right now." She was trying to be forceful, but it was hard to do while not showing any of her half-dressed body.

"I need a swimsuit so unless you have a pair of men's swim trunks in your bag, I'm going to have to go and get one. I would hate to disappoint the kids." He knew it was mean, using her nieces and nephew against her, but he needed to get a swimsuit.

Lisbon's shoulders slumped slightly, "Fine, but if anything happens to it, you will be paying for the damage and I don't just mean monetarily." With that she slammed the door to the bathroom again.

Jane smiled and tossed the keys in the air. He walked out of the hotel room whistling. This was going to be a good week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to every one for the wonderful reviews and to Ebony10 for the beta. According to me Ethics teacher, Steven Covey (the author of the 7 habits books) writing is calisthenics for the brain, so I like to think that by writing these little fics is making me smarter :)

Jane wasn't gone long, but he wasn't surprised to see Lisbon and her family at the pool already. He quickly changed out of his suit and into the swimsuit. It was not something he would have normally chosen, but he thought that the kids might get a kick out of it. He walked over to the pool and decided that he wanted to sneak up on Lisbon and her sister-in-law who were sitting in the deck chairs facing away from the entry gate and toward the pool. There were more people in the pool besides just Lisbon's nieces and nephew—some of the other kids who were staying at the hotel.

He walked slowly and quietly towards Lisbon. He could hear them talking, but could not make out what they were saying. He was behind, about to make a loud noise to hopefully make her jump, when Lisbon said "Jane, I'm glad you're here. Could you get my back before I get in the pool?"

"How did you know I was here?" Jane asked, walking around the chair and looking at her in disbelief. She didn't get a chance to answer however because as soon as she saw his swim trunks she started laughing out loud.

"What are you wearing?" She asked when she was finally able to stop laughing.

"What? I thought the kids would like them." He said, defending his choice of swim shorts. They were dark blue with Donald Duck's head on them.

"Did you look at them before you put them on? Because with his mouth open it makes quite a sight." Lisbon was laughing again. Jane looked down at his swim trunks as if for the first time noticing that Donald Duck's head was in a very conspicuous place.

He grinned at Lisbon. "See, now you're not so mad that I'm here, are you?" Lisbon just rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to do my back or do I need Andrea to do it?" She asked, choosing to ignore his arrogant grin.

"Sure, I'll do it." He said, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen that was next to Lisbon's chair. "So, Lisbon, are you going to introduce me to your sister-in-law?"

"I'm sorry. I thought you had already met her when you showed up without warning." She said with just a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "Jane, meet Andrea Lisbon, my brother Andy's wife. Andrea, meet Patrick Jane, pain in the ass." She moved her hair so that Jane could get her shoulders. "I believe you met my brother. My oldest nephew was named after him. We call him A.J., then there's Anastasia-she's the one just younger than A.J.—and the youngest is Alan."

"All done." Jane said. He stood next to Lisbon's chair for a few more minutes. "Are you actually going to go swimming?" He was standing with his hands on his hips, looking out at the pool. His face had the same look that he got while investigating a crime scene.

"In a minute. Why don't you go have some fun?" Lisbon said. She knew that Andrea was going to want to talk to her. Jane looked over at her and gave his mischievous little boy grin before running off to jump in the pool.

"So, what's up with you and Patrick? He told Andy that you were dating, but you sure don't act like it." Andrea asked the second Jane was in the water.

"We're not. Jane will usually do anything he wants to get what he wants. He doesn't think of the consequences." Lisbon was looking at the pool. Jane had Anastasia by the waist and was getting ready to toss her into the water. The little girl was squealing with delight. Seeing him in the pool just reminded her of how good Jane was with kids.

As if reading her mind, Andrea said "He's really good with kids, isn't he? Are you going to be okay sharing a room? We could see if the hotel has a roll out bed that you could use."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think we'll be okay," Lisbon said, standing up. "We're big kids. We can handle it." She walked toward the pool and realized that she had lost track of Jane. She was standing on the edge of the pool when she felt something wet on her ankles. She didn't even have time to look down when she was pulled into the pool.

She surfaced quickly, sputtering and glaring at the man in front of her. "Jane! What did you do that for?" She wiped her hand down her face in an attempt to remove some of the water that was dripping off her hair and into her eyes.

"You were dry." He said, laughing. Lisbon couldn't think of a comeback. She just glared at him and in one swift movement swept an armful of water into Jane's face and climbed back out of the pool. She grabbed a towel and headed back to the hotel room. It was almost time to go to dinner anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i swear that they will get to Disenyland at some point :) Thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta, and to all the people who review, it really is appreciated. The cheese guy at my local grocery store recommended the best cheese fro my grilled ham and cheese we had for dinner tonight, so if you are having a hankering for grilled cheese, try Boars Head Tavern Ham with Denmark Fontina (that may or may not actually be the brand name, I'm not sure), absolutely delicious, and the cheese is also very good with the grapes we had for desert. And now, one with the story!

Lisbon had showered and changed by the time Jane got back to the room from the pool. She was sitting on the bed, watching what seemed to be the only channel that came in on the TV—the Disney Channel. She didn't say anything when Jane walked in the room. She had decided that the silent treatment was the way to go this time and so ignored him when he walked in.

"You missed having a great time at the pool, Lisbon. The kids really wished you had stayed." Jane said, smiling at her as if nothing had happened. He waited a few minutes for her response and then went on as if her not saying anything was normal. "We decided that we'd go to Downtown Disney for dinner tonight. They have the Rainforest Café. I think you would really like it." He looked at the TV. "I really can't believe you are that interested in…what is this anyway?" He really couldn't figure it out. Whatever it was involved very bad acting. "Is this what passes for good TV these days? I'm glad I don't spend much time watching it." He looked at her and smiled again. He could tell that he was cracking her, just a little bit more. "Your brother mentioned that he wanted you to baby-sit for him while they were here. I told him you wouldn't have a problem doing it. In fact, I volunteered you to do it tonight."

That did it, "You did what! You can't just volunteer me to baby-sit without asking." She was glaring at him now instead of the TV.

"Your brother does think that we're dating so it was only natural that I accept. But it's ok. They apparently want to hang out as a family tonight so no babysitting." He threw a grin in her direction as he went into the bathroom to change and not a moment too soon. He figured the remote control for the TV was what hit the door behind him.

Dinner was actually nice. They didn't have to wait very long because they got there pretty early. The kids thought that the decorations were, in their words, awesome. The only problem came when the first "rain storm" came. It turned out that the youngest, Alan, was terrified of thunder. It also turned out that Jane's ability to calm anyone worked especially well on young children. Lisbon made a note to talk to him about it when they got back to the hotel room.

It was still early when they got done eating. One of the draw backs of vacationing with small children was the early hour that they usually went to bed. Lisbon and Jane went back to the hotel when her family did, returning to their hotel room.

"Next time you want to hypnotize someone in my family, ask first." Lisbon said, sitting on the bed and turning on the TV.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jane said, sitting down on the other side of the bed and turning off the TV with the remote.

"Yes, you do. I know that you're an expert in calming people's fears, but that was just a little over the top there. It is important for kids that age to overcome their fears on their own." She said, glaring at him. She was tempted to turn the TV on again, but knew he would just turn it off so she didn't even bother.

"What makes you think I hypnotized him?" He was finding this amusing. It wasn't often that she waited this long after an act to get mad at him about it.

"I know what to look for when you're using your," she searched for the right word, "powers. I've worked with you long enough to know what to look for. Did you ever think that it's normal for a four year old to be afraid of loud noises? It's a defense mechanism. It's a way to protect himself. What if you've messed him up for life?"

Jane couldn't help but laugh. She was over reacting and it was almost sweet how much she cared about her nephew. "Don't fret, Lisbon. I wouldn't do anything to serious. He'll be just fine. He'll have more fun on the Fourth of July, but other than that I doubt there will be any problems from it." He smirked at her. It really was funny.

Almost without warning, Lisbon pulled the pillows out from underneath Jane, causing him to fall back against the head board, and threw them on the floor. "You sleep on the floor." She said trying to push him out of the bed and onto the floor.

"What? The bed's big enough for us both. I don't mind your kicking." He said, smiling at her. She punched him in the arm and glared at him.

"You are crashing my vacation, Jane. I wasn't planning on you being here. Did you even try to get your own hotel room? You will not be sleeping on the bed. You will be sleeping on the floor. If you want, you can call up to the front desk and see if they have any extra pillows and blankets, but you are not sleeping in this bed and you are not sleeping with me." Lisbon gave one last mighty push and succeeded in pushing Jane onto the floor. Now it was her turn to laugh.

Lisbon slept well that night, despite the fact that Jane took it upon himself to be as big a pain in the ass as he could be. She was eventually able to fall asleep by finding a pair of ear plugs in her bag that she usually reserved for plane rides. She woke early and was surprised to see Jane actually looked like he was sleeping on the floor next to the bed. Not wanting to disturb him, she quietly grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to shower and change for the day.

Jane was sitting on the bed, still in his pajamas, when Lisbon came back into the room. "The continental breakfast is being served over by the pool. The park opens at 10:00 today." She said, grabbing her shoes from where she had left them by the door the night before. "I hope you're not planning on wearing a three piece suit to Disneyland." She said as she straightened.

"What do you think I should wear?" He asked, slightly amused that she would think he would wear a suit on vacation.

"I don't know. Something like this" She said, gesturing to her outfit that included a pair of jean shorts and a tee shirt. "It's going to get warm today. I hope that you brought some shorts." She walked to the door and thought for a minute with her hand on the knob. "I don't know though. I don't think they make short suits for men. Of course, you are a little boy most of the time so you never know." She left the room quickly before he could come up with a comeback. If she was going to be stuck with him for a week, she might as well have a little fun with it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, Lisbon's brother is named Andrew aka Andy, his wife Andrea and their kids Andrew Jr. aka A.J. (9), Anastasia (7), and Alan (4). Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and to Ebony10 who betaed for me

Lisbon was sitting with her family, eating breakfast—cold cereal, fruit and coffee—when Jane walked in and she almost choked on her cereal. She almost didn't recognize him when he walked in. It appeared that he hadn't planned on wearing his normal suit to Disneyland today. Instead he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a casual light blue short sleeve button down shirt.

"What do you know," she said as he walked up to the table, "You really do own something besides suits. Same shoes though." He smirked at her.

"Cold cereal, Lisbon? Really, that's no way to start the day. You should at least have a donut."

"You know, that's a great idea. Why don't you grab me one when you get your own breakfast?" She asked. He just walked off toward the breakfast set up. She watched him go, surprised at how nice he looked when he was dressed down.

"You know, sis, for a couple that's dating, you sure do act funny. I don't think I've heard either one of you call each other by your first names since you got here yesterday. What's up with that?" Her brother asked, looking at her with a confused look on his face.

Lisbon stalled by taking a long drink of her coffee. "It's to keep the relationship interesting." Jane answered for her, placing a donut on the table in front of her and sitting down next to her. "It's vacation. Don't the kids get donuts, too?" He was trying to take the subject off of his lie to Lisbon's brother and it worked.

"Yeah, Dad, can we have donuts?" A.J. asked.

He pretended to debate for a minute before he said "Yeah, go ahead. It's vacation, right?"

Jane laughed at the eager way that all three kids jumped up to go get donuts and Lisbon just rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go make sure I have everything ready for today, batteries and all that." Lisbon said, standing up. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

Back in the hotel room she wondered about the wisdom of leaving Jane alone with her brother. He couldn't cause too much damage at breakfast, could he? Trying not to think about it, she checked to make sure that her camera had batteries and that she had at least two extra sets in her backpack. She made sure to grab the sunscreen and the water bottle she had brought with her. It was a reusable one—she used it when she went to the gym. As an afterthought she put in the extra bottle that she had brought with her. She could almost guarantee that Jane would not bring a bottle of water with him. She checked to make sure that she had her wallet in her bag as well before going in search of Jane.

She found him standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel room. "Do you have everything ready, Jane? I know the hotel is close to the park, but we probably won't be back before dinner. Alan doesn't take naps anymore so we probably won't be coming back for any reason."

"I'm ready if you packed me that extra water bottle of yours." He said, looking at her with a knowing smile on his face.

"Keep it up and I'm going to make you carry the backpack." She said, swatting his arm playfully. Jane just chuckled and they waited for just a few more minutes in silence for her family to emerge from their hotel room so they could get going. The children were barely able to contain their excitement as they walked across the street. Lisbon had her camera out and was already shooting pictures of the looks on their faces as they walked through the gates for the first time.

"Lisbon, give me your camera." Jane said,s standing very close to her.

"Why?" She asked, turning and finding that she was almost standing on top of him.

"It's your vacation. You should be in the pictures too." He said with a smile, easily taking the camera from her. What he didn't realize is that Andy also had a camera and was capturing the whole exchange. Jane took over the picture taking for the moment, making sure to get ones of Lisbon with all of her family in front of the Mickey face made of flowers just inside the main gate.

"Let's go see Mickey!" Yelled out Alan, tired of all of the picture taking.

"Yeah, Mickey, let's go!" Anastasia started pulling on Lisbon's hand.

Laughing and finally giving in, they all headed toward the train to make it easier to get to Toontown to see Mickey. The wait in line was almost unbearable for the children. Luckily Jane was there. Lisbon just stood, watching as he enthralled not only her nephews and niece, but also the rest of the kids in line with his mind reading and magic tricks. It would seem that she had finally found a place where his talents were appreciated and she wondered if Disneyland was hiring any line wranglers.

They took pictures of all of the kids with Mickey and—it would seem as an afterthought—also a picture of Lisbon and Jane with Mickey. They were walking out of Toontown after going on a few of the rides there when Jane started bouncing up and down like a little child. "What is it, Jane?' Asked Lisbon, not really paying attention to him.

"I know what ride we need to go on next." He said with his trademark smile, walking off in the direction of the ride. The rest of them followed him, not really sure where they were going. Lisbon knew the second they got near which ride he wanted to go on.

"No, I am not going on that ride with you. Or rather, you need to stay far far way from that ride." She said, stopping in her tracks.

"Come on, sis," Andy said, pulling her along. "It's not a trip to Disneyland without going on this ride once." Lisbon just shook her head. They didn't know Jane the way she did. This was not going to end well.

They stood in line for only a short amount of time compared to the rest of the lines they had been in that day and, as they got into the boat, Jane decided that he needed to share some little known trivia with Lisbon and the rest of her family, who were unwitting participants in the torture that was about to ensue for the rest of the day. "Did you know that this ride was originally at the 1964/65 New York's World Fair? The song plays on a continuous loop. And most recently the ride has been "updated" to include characters from the Disney movies and songs from some of the movies, too." He was sitting next to Lisbon in the boat and they were finally entering the building housing the attraction. The music started and Lisbon wanted to plug her ears and bury her head in her lap.

"Come on, Lisbon. It's a song about a world of laughter and a world of fun. What could you hate about it?" Jane was really enjoying her discomfort. He smiled and swayed along with the song slightly. For what seemed like hours, but actually wasn't very long, Lisbon endured the torture of Jane sitting next to her, humming and singing along. When the ride was over she left as quickly as she could.

To her surprise, Jane didn't immediately start to bombard her with the song. He was actually quite pleasant with them all, taking pictures and entertaining the kids in line. By the time they were ready to go back to the hotel and get ready for dinner Lisbon had lowered her guard and was actually enjoying spending time with him.

They were in the hotel room and Jane had decided to actually wash up before dinner, something Lisbon didn't think he would actually do. "You know, Lisbon. It is amazing how dirty you can get just walking around all day." He came out of the bathroom drying his face and hands on a towel.

"I know. That's why we came back to the hotel first before going to dinner. We have to get a move on. They want to be back for the fireworks tonight. I've heard that the fireworks alone are worth the price of admission."

"I love fireworks and we'll get a chance to see that Alan is much better off than he was just two nights ago." They had left the room and were standing out on the sidewalk in front of the rooms now.

"Still doesn't make up for what you did and you know it." Lisbon said. They were still arguing about it when her family came out and join them.

"Trouble in paradise, sis?" Andy asked with a wink.

"No, just a difference of opinion." She said. They had decided to go to Denny's for dinner. Lisbon thought that McDonald's would have been a better choice with four children, but she knew Jane would take too much pleasure in knowing that she thought he was a small child. Dinner was surprisingly uneventful and they were back in the park in time for the fireworks.

To Andy and Andrea's amazement, Alan had no problems with the noise of the fireworks and Lisbon wouldn't admit it, but she was secretly glad that Jane had worked his magic on Alan. It was nice to be able to watch the kids enjoying the fireworks without having to comfort any of them.

"Thanks Jane." Lisbon said to him while still keeping her eyes on the castle in front of them where the fireworks were coming from.

"What for?" He didn't look at her, but she knew he was smiling.

"Alan is really enjoying the fireworks; I just wanted to say thanks for what you did the other night."

"Are you saying that you were wrong Lisbon?" She could hear the amusement in his voice.

"No, I'm just saying that this one time, you actually helped with your meddling." Lisbon said turning away from him and looking at the fireworks again. Jane didn't say anything in response, he just looked over at her and smirked, she would admit it one day.

That night back at the hotel Lisbon once again banished Jane to the floor for sleeping. As she was nodding off she thought about what a wonderful day they had all had together and how much Jane had surprised her by not torturing her with that stupid song. She was almost asleep when she heard Jane start to sing quietly under his breath. "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all." She groaned and threw her pillow at him. It just wasn't fair. Now she was going to have that song in her head all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the top and bottom, I hate that. If anyone has a favorite ride at Disneyland I would love to have suggestions on which rides to have them go on, just let me know :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the reviews, and to everyone who offered suggestions on what rides they should go on. For all the times I have been to Disenyland, I have never been to California Adventure (I suppose I should have waited until after my trip this summer to write it, but that's ok) so they will not be spending any time there, because I don't think I could write about it actually enough for my liking. Anyway, thakns to Ebony10 for being my beta, and now on to the story!

The day dawned bright and clear. The sun was shining, but it promised not to get too hot. There was a slight breeze, not too strong, just enough to keep the air moving. But Lisbon was not enjoying it. Instead she was trying desperately to hold on to sleep for a few more minutes. Jane had been up most of the night, which normally wouldn't bother her—she knew he didn't sleep much—but he had been singing, humming and whistling that song all night long. Every time she would fall asleep he would start up again. He had finally let up at 5:00 am and she had managed to get a few hours of sleep. Then he had decided that it was time for a shower and had gone on singing the entire time he was in there. She was really to starting to regret leaving her gun at home.

"Better get up, Lisbon. It's almost time to go to breakfast. The boys should be here soon. I told your brother that we'd take them around today. Better get a move on if you want to get in a shower." He was being entirely too cheerful for 8:00 in the morning on vacation. She half sat up and glared at him. He was giving her his boyish grin and she wanted to throw her pillow at him, but then she would be out of pillows. She groaned and sat up.

"You can be a real pain in the ass, you know that, Jane? Did you have to keep me up all night with that insane song?" She slowly got out of the bed, stretching.

"Oh come on, you got some sleep." He was enjoying this a little too much.

"I need more than three hours of sleep a night to keep me happy." She glared at him one more time, grabbing some clothes out of her bag and going into the bathroom to shower and change. By the time she got done Jane was sitting on the bed again with the same brown shoes. He had chosen a pair of khaki pants today and another short sleeve button down shirt—this time in a light yellow. He really did look good.

"You know, I think you're the only person who can still look dressed for work while wearing his day off clothes. Don't you even own a t-shirt? Seriously. Or a pair of tennis shoes or sandals? You really need to relax." She was putting her shoes on when there was knock at the door.

"That will be the boys!" Jane shouted, jumping up to answer the door.

"Uncle Patrick!" They both shouted, throwing their arms around him when he opened the door.

"He is not your uncle." She said, coming to them.

"What can I say? The kids love me" He said, grinning. Lisbon just growled at him and walked past him. "Let's get some breakfast, Jane. I'm starving. You coming, guys?" She didn't look back, but could swear that she heard three little boys giggling behind her. They decided to skip the free breakfast today and instead opted for pancakes and eggs at the same Denny's that they had dinner at the night before. As luck would have it, the waitress that had helped them the night before was the same one who helped them today.

While Jane had been less than his normal flirting self at dinner—out of respect for her brother, Lisbon thought—this morning he was laying it on thick. To make it worse, he was actually trying to give A.J. and Alan pointers. Well, his advice was aimed more towards A.J., but in true little brother fashion anything that A.J. liked, Alan liked.

"The idea is to make them think that you are giving all of your attention to them. You want them to think that they are the only thing in your mind at the time. Now, show me your killer smiles, guys." He had a laughing look in his eyes as both A.J. and Alan gave him grins that could melt butter.

"I really think that they're a little young for you to be teaching them all this." Lisbon said in protest, but Jane could tell that it was only half hearted. She was really enjoying watching them. Jane decided to make it his mission today to make her admit that she was enjoying spending time with him.

"Look," he said, turning to the boys, "Here comes the waitress. Let's practice what we've been learning." Lisbon just watched as her sweet little nine year old nephew turned into a miniature Patrick Jane. He was laying the charm on so think that the waitress couldn't contain herself.

"Is he for sale? Because I would love to take him home with me," the waitress said to Lisbon. "He is so adorable." She left the check on the table and walked off, shaking her head slightly.

"All right! You did it. You just need to keep practicing and pretty soon you'll have the girls eating out of your hand." He gave both the boys high fives.

"Is that how you got Aunt Teresa to go out with you? By charming her?" A.J. asked, looking between the two of them.

"No," Lisbon said immediately.

"Not every woman reacts well to the charm. Sometimes though, the ones that are harder to get are the ones that are worth more. You come to appreciate them more when they just don't turn to putty in your hands with one look." He was looking at Lisbon while he was saying this, but turned to look at A.J. at the end. "Your Aunt is a very special woman. She has never fallen for my charm."

A.J. contemplated this for a minute, "I'm glad your with her. She's too nice for most guys out there and I like you." He smiled at him, a weaker charming smile than Jane had, but Lisbon could tell that with practice it would be just as deadly.

"Shall we get going? We've got a big day ahead. What do you guys think of Pirates?" Lisbon asked, choosing to ignore the last comment made by her nephew. No need to tell him that they weren't really together.

"I love pirates!" Alan shouted, jumping up and running towards the door. They paid the bill and headed over to Disneyland. As promised, the first stop was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The boys—all three of them—had a blast, looking at all of the pirates. Jane was having as much fun as Lisbon's nephews, singing along to the songs and pointing out all of the slights, the bride sale, the skeletons going after the treasure. He loved it. They got off the ride in high spirits. The boys were pretending to be pirates and Jane was playing around with them. When they passed the shop with all of the pirate paraphernalia for sale Lisbon just couldn't resist and, with just a little prodding from Jane, all four of them ended up garbed as pirates, from the hats and eye patches to the swords.

They walked down the sidewalk towards the rafts to take them to Tom Sawyer Island, the boys playing sword fight the whole way there. "I think I might regret buying those for them." Lisbon said, shaking her head as she watched them.

"Nonsense, Lisbon. They're boys. Let them have some fun." They boarded the raft and were shuttled over to the island. While on the way, Jane decided to share even more of his Disneyland trivia. "Did you know Tom Sawyer Island first opened in 1956? It was based on the book by Mark Twain. In 2007, it was updated to cash in on the Pirates of the Caribbean Movies."

"Wow, you're so smart." Alan said to him with awe.

"I think you have an admirer, Jane. How sweet." Lisbon laughed and Jane just smiled. They all decided to explore the island together. Lisbon was really having a good time, not that she would admit it to Jane. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She took a lot of pictures—of the boys exploring the caves, running along the paths, and climbing on the hills. If some pictures of Jane also managed to make it in, it wasn't her fault. He was playing with the boys after all, she couldn't help it.

She was sitting on a bench taking pictures of Jan—of her nephews, yes, her nephews—playing around, still having sword fights. Jane was giving some pointers to Alan on how to get the best hits in when an older woman sat down beside her. "It's great to see a father playing so well with his children." The woman said to Lisbon.

"Oh, he's not-" then she stopped, no need to tell her they weren't related. "They're my nephews." Lisbon smiled at the older woman, hoping that the conversation would end there, but it didn't.

"Well you hold on to him, dear. He's going to be a great father someday. Mark my words." They sat in silence watching the boys fight while Jane gave pointers, every once in a while getting a jab of his own in.

"Mom, there you are. Have you been waiting for us the whole time?" The woman looked up at a middle aged man walking towards them.

"Oh hello, son, I was just watching the sword fight." She said, gesturing towards the trio. "Can you do me a favor?" Her son nodded, "I've been wanting to take a picture for this kind woman of her with her family, but my hands are a bit shaky. Can you do it for me?" The man nodded and Lisbon grudgingly handed over her camera, calling to Jane that they were going to get a picture taken. They all got their pirate gear on and the man snapped a picture of the four of them with their swords in the air.

Lisbon got her camera back from the man and said good bye to the woman, turning around. She was surprised to see a sword in her face. "Duel, Lisbon? We can't let the boys have all the fun." She smiled at him and raised her sward, battling him the same way she had seen the boys doing earlier. It didn't take long for the boys to join in and the fighting soon escalated into a full fledged laughing fest.

By the time they left the island it was well past time for lunch. Grabbing what was more junk food than nutrition, they headed to the opposite side of the park for a couple of more rides that Jane and Lisbon thought that the boys would like. "So we have Star Wars, Buzz Lightyear, and NASCAR. What do you want to do first?" Jane asked the boys as they headed to Tomorrow Land.

"I want Star Wars!" shouted A.J. and Alan went along so the headed to Star Tours first. Lisbon took pleasure in the fact that she seemed to finally know more about one of the Disneyland rides than Jane did as she told the boys about the droids that were on display before the ride.

Standing in line waiting to be the next to board the craft, Jane leaned forward and whispered in Lisbon's ear, "I knew that too, but I just wanted your nephews to think you knew more than I did." He ducked away quickly as she jabbed her elbow back, just missing his stomach.

The boys spent the time waiting in line for the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters talking about the cool trip that they had just been on. They decided to split up and get into two different cars when it was time to board the ride. Lisbon went with Alan and Jane went with A.J.. They took turns firing the blaster and moving the car and, at the end, Lisbon and Alan were more than willing to gloat over their high scores.

"It's not really fair, Lisbon, You carry a gun, You have practice." Jane said while they were waiting in line at Autopia.

"No excuse, Jane. I wasn't the only one firing. Besides, it's not like I spend all day at the firing range." She thought a moment, "Also, there's nothing stopping you from practicing. You might not carry a gun, but you can still practice."

A.J. looked at Lisbon in awe. "Aunt Teresa, you get to carry a gun at work?"

"Yes, I do." She knew that he knew she was a cop, but he also knew she didn't 'get to' wear the uniform. Apparently he assumed that meant she didn't carry a gun. "But I would never use it if I don't have to." She really didn't want to be talking about this with him and was kicking herself for bringing it up.

"Uncle Patrick, you work with Aunt Teresa. Why don't you carry a gun?" A.J. turned his attention to Jane.

"I prefer swords to guns—a much more classic form of defense." Jane said with a smile. A.J. was apparently satisfied by that response because all he said was cool and then went to looking at the cars, trying to pick which color he would get. They split up into different cars again. This time A.J. went with Lisbon and Alan went with Jane.

"Let's see if we can beat your aunt to the finish line, shall we?" Jane asked Alan in a loud whisper, meant to be over heard by Lisbon.

"A.J.," Lisbon said, buckling her seat belt and settling in the passenger seat, "If you can beat them around the track I will personally buy you anything that you want within reason."

"What does 'within reason' mean?" A.J. asked as if contemplating how bad he should try to beat them.

"Less than $100." Lisbon said.

"Works for me," A.J. replied and with that pulled out and sped away. She was really surprised that he was able to drive so well, so fast, at such a young age.

"Have you done this before?" She asked him.

"Yeah, at the Family Fun Center. We go every weekend." They had left Jane and Alan in the dust as Jane tried to get the car to go faster, but seemed to keep stalling the car out. Lisbon was laughing when they got to the end of the ride a full 30 seconds faster than Jane did and that was even after getting stopped behind a person who didn't know how to steer.

"Wow, Jane. Beat you twice. That's pretty sad, wouldn't you say?" Lisbon teased as they got off the ride. In response he stuck out his tongue at her. "Really mature, Jane."

It was time for the boys to meet their parents for dinner. Jane and Lisbon opted to skip Denny's and instead went to dinner at a small Mexican restaurant that Jane knew that was nowhere near Disneyland.

"They had better have good food, Jane," Lisbon said as they entered the small dark restaurant that was a good half hour drive from their hotel.

"They have the best tamales you have ever eaten. I'm sure you're going to love it." They were seated at a booth and ordered quickly, both wanting to get back to the hotel quickly so that they could get to sleep. They didn't talk much while they were eating, just a little about her family and the day that they had spent in the Park. It wasn't until they were on the way back to the hotel that Lisbon brought up what they were going to do the next day.

"So, we spent the day with A.J. and Alan today. Are we going to spend the day with Anastasia tomorrow?" Lisbon asked Jane as she drove through the streets, heading back toward the hotel.

"Yeah, I suppose that we should." Jane said, almost distracted.

"What do you mean you suppose we should? Isn't that what you had planned? After all, it was your idea to spend the day with the boys today, it would only be fair to spend tomorrow with Anastasia."

"Yeah, it would be." He still didn't seem to be really paying attention and it took Lisbon a bit to figure out why he might be hesitant to spend the day with her niece.

"You know, Jane. You don't have to spend the day with me and Anastasia tomorrow if you don't want to. You can hang out with Andy and Andrea and the boys again or you can spend some time on your own." They were almost back at the hotel and Lisbon really just wanted to crawl into bed.

"I'll be fine, Lisbon. Thanks for your concern." Jane gave her a sad smile as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. It was almost a miracle that they were able to get the same parking spot that they had been in when they left.

They quickly got ready for bed, with Lisbon taking the bathroom first. She got into bed and looked at the pile of pillows and blankets that the maid had piled onto the chair. She thought about how tired she was and about how hard the floor was. It really wasn't very nice of her to make Jane sleep on the floor. She had been having a good time with him there. When he came out of the bathroom she had scooted over to one side of the bed.

"Hey, if you'd like, you can sleep on the other side of the bed tonight if you want, Jane. Just no touching, all right?" Lisbon offered, noting how tired he looked and how well he was hiding it. Most people wouldn't be able to tell.

"Thanks, Lisbon. I don't think my back would have taken another night on the floor." He grinned at her and grabbed the pillows. He decided to sleep on top of the blanket she was currently under to help with her no touching rule. Lisbon turned out the bedside lamp and rolled onto her side facing away from Jane. She didn't see him smiling in the dark at her as she fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The opening scene is inspired by my friend's comment on the TV guide cover. I was looking at in the grocery store the other day. Her comment "He's got a little scruffy thing going on, makes him look even sexier." As a reminder, Anastasia is supposed to be 7, and is very, very, VERY loosely based on my 7 year old little sister, who most people think is my daughter when we go out, probably has something to do with the fact that I have a 6 year old. The passages in italics are flashbacks, I thought it makes sense, but you never know, none of you are in my head. And a very big thanks to Ebony10 with out her, I wold still be working on this chapter, and it would still be very far from done.

She was happy. She had been stranded in a rather overgrown wilderness when a rugged sexy mountain man had come to her rescue. She knew it was a dream—she had this dream often. What was different was that her mountain man was blond with blue eyes. Normally he was a variation on the Brawny man. Trying to figure out why her dream man was starting to take on the appearance of a certain annoying blond consultant would take too much effort for a dream. She was really starting to enjoy this new variation when he suddenly sprouted a pirate hat and eye patch. This was new too. She wondered if they were going to end up on a pirate ship next, but no. Instead, he just pulled her close and started to kiss her.

Her eyes flew open. While that part of the dream was not unusual, the gentle weight she felt on her chest and the soft breath on her cheek were uncommon. Then she remembered—she was on vacation at Disneyland with her brother and his family and Jane was with her. In fact, she had felt sorry for making him sleep on the floor for the past two nights and had decided that he could sleep on the bed with her. She remembered the last thing she had said to him before going to sleep was no touching. Apparently, in his sleep he had forgotten.

She slowly turned her head so that she could look at him. He was still lying on top on the covers and she was still under them. His arm however was gently wrapped around her, his leg was pressed up against hers, and his face was close enough for her to almost feel the slight growth of a beard on his face, evidence that he had not shaved yesterday or today. She was slightly disturbed by the thoughts that were going through her head: that he looked even sexier than he usually did with just a little bit of growth on his face. She quickly shook her head to clear it and gently got up so as not to disturb him, he got so little sleep, and she wondered why it was that he seemed to have slept so well last night. It was probably because of all the goofing off he had done with her nephews the day before.

She watched him as he rolled over slightly into the spot she had just occupied and settled his head onto her pillow. It looked like he had taken a deep breath when he had moved his head, but she just dismissed it and went into the bathroom to get ready.

Jane waited until Lisbon had shut the door to the bathroom before he opened his eyes. He had woken up just minutes before Lisbon had. They had been close, but not touching and he decided to see what she would do if he had been touching her. He had expected her to get mad, but apparently she was fine with it as long as he was asleep. He filed that away for another day. He rubbed his chin and noticed the growth that was there. That's what he got for not shaving for two days. He got out of bed and decided to shave before Lisbon got out of the shower.

By the time Lisbon stepped out of the bathroom in her purple plaid shorts and white shirt, Jane was clean shaven and sitting on the bed watching Handy Mandy. "Do you think that by watching this, it will really help small children learn Spanish?" He asked.

"No, I think it's just to make them comfortable with hearing both languages together. Your turn for the shower." Lisbon still had a towel wrapped around her head and looked a little disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked, getting up and moving towards the bathroom.

"Nothing. Still a little tired, that's all." Jane couldn't help but notice that she was looking at his clean shaven face and wondered if she had actually liked his slightly scruffy look. He again filed that away in the part of his mind reserved specifically for information on her before going into the bathroom to get ready.

When he got out of the shower Lisbon had her hair pulled back into a pony tail and was completely dressed. He was a little surprised to see Anastasia was already there. "Good morning, Anastasia. How are you today?" He asked, overly dramatic and with a bow.

In response she giggled and whispered something in Lisbon's ear. "See, I told you." Lisbon said to her before turning to Jane.

"Are you going to tell me what you two are whispering about? Or do I have to guess?" Jane smiled. He had promised himself that he would have a good time today if it killed him. He was really going to try for Lisbon's sake—he hadn't thought of this when he had decided to crash her vacation.

"I had told Anastasia that you were going to wear pants, despite the fact that it is supposed to be close to 90 today." She was trying to control her laughter now and it was almost working. He couldn't help it—they were just both so cute—he found that he, too, was...well, it could only be described as giggling.

"Uncle Patrick," Anastasia said when they had finally stopped laughing, "Are we going to get pancakes for breakfast this morning? My brothers said they got pancakes for breakfast yesterday." Lisbon just rolled her eyes. She had given up on convincing the boys that Jane was not their uncle yesterday and decided not to argue with her today.

"Well, if your aunt is ok with that, then sure. Let's get some pancakes." Jane held his hand out for her to grab and they walked out the door as Lisbon grabbed her backpack and followed.

They went to Denny's again and for the third day in a row they had the same waitress. She remembered Jane instantly. Who wouldn't remember his killer smile, Lisbon thought as the waitress made a crack about how he had a different woman with him every day. Jane didn't correct her and, when she left to turn in their orders, Lisbon pinched him on the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?" He asked, rubbing his arm. Instead of answering him she turned to Anastasia and, in a play on when he was giving instructions to her nephews the day before, started explaining the reason behind her actions.

"You see, sweetie, sometimes you have to show a guy who's boss. Now, a guy shouldn't hit a girl—it's against the rules—but sometimes it's the only way to get through to a boy, to show them who's boss. Just remember that when you have to keep your guy in line. That it's important to wait until after he's done making a fool of himself to punish him. It's more fun that way." She smiled at Jane and he tried to act mad, but it didn't work.

They ate breakfast with Lisbon spending most of the time entertaining Anastasia. Jane understood what she was doing, trying to protect him and make it easier for him to spend the day with them. He wanted to tell her it was ok, that he didn't need her to take extra precautions, but he didn't. It was nice to see that she cared about him. It was also nice to know that he had an out if he needed it, but he hoped he wouldn't.

They were done eating now and Anastasia hadn't stopped talking the whole way into the park. They were all the way into the park when she stopped to take a breath and Jane was able to get a question in. "Anastasia, tell me. Are you a princess girl or have you gone over to the dark side of tiny bopper and tween rock star?"

"I don't know what that means, but I still like princesses. Some of my friends at school like Hannah Montana and High School musical and I guess they're ok, but I wanna meet the princesses, not Hannah Montana. Daddy says that kids shouldn't try to grow up to fast." In a move that would make Jane proud she gave him a killer smile and grabbed his hand. "Mom and Dad took me on all the boy rides yesterday. They said that you and Aunt Teresa would love to take me on the rides I want to go on today." She smiled again and started pulling him towards Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look at the castle. Do you think Sleeping Beauty really lives there?" Jane looked down at his hand and smiled. The little girl with blond curls was looking in awe at the castle in front of them. Her excitement was contagious and he found himself smiling down at her.

"She does if you want her to, sweetheart." He told her. He looked over at the woman holding her other hand. She had beautiful blond hair—just like their daughter's—and he felt like the luckiest man alive.

"Look, there's a carousel!" His daughter yelled, letting go of her parents' hands to rush over to it. "Can I ride on it, Daddy? Please? I love the horses!"

"Jane, you ok?" He shook his head and looked over at the women he was with today. Not a tall blond, but a petite brunet. Not a small curly haired blond girl, but a little girl with dark hair and green eyes. He noticed for the first time how much of a family resemblance there was between Lisbon and her niece.

"I'm ok." He said, still slightly distracted. He noticed for the first time that they had passed through the castle and were now standing in front of the carousel. "It's the horses. They really are beautiful." He stood looking at them for a few more minutes while they stood in line. He wasn't really paying attention to what Anastasia was saying and he didn't notice Lisbon's concerned look either. "I think I'm going to skip this one." He said when it came time to get on the carousel.

Lisbon didn't say anything, just nodded her head in understanding and handed him the backpack. Anastasia chose a white horse on the outer ring of the carousel and Lisbon stood next to her. Jane took Lisbon's camera out of the bag and decided to take some pictures of them. His daughter had always picked the brown horses. She had amassed a large collection of brown horses. It made him smile thinking about it. That was unexpected. He had expected to feel sad thinking about his daughter, but instead, he was actually happy.

He thought about his reaction for a minute. He had thought that by coming here with Lisbon and her niece that it would be like replacing the memories that he had of his daughter, but instead it was as if he was just enhancing them. Seeing all the new memories being made by this little girl just brought back the happy memories of the first time he had been at Disneyland with a little girl.

Jane was smiling when Lisbon and Anastasia got off the ride. Lisbon looked at him with a little skepticism. "Are you ok, Jane?"

"Of course I'm ok. There's nothing like the expression on a person's face the first time the ride the carousel at Disneyland." Jane said showing them the pictures he had taken of them on the carousel. If either of them noticed that there were a few more pictures of Lisbon by herself than of the two together, it went unsaid.

Jane was surprised at how eager Anastasia was to remain a little girl. They were walking through Fantasy Land when Cinderella made an appearance. The look on her face was one of pure joy.

"Daddy! Look—it's Cinderella! Come with me to see her, Daddy." She pulled on his hand to stand in line. "Take a picture with me, Daddy."

His wife smiled at him "Every girl needs a prince charming."

"Uncle Patrick, come take a picture with me and Aunt Teresa. Please?" Anastasia was looking at him with puppy dog eyes and he found he couldn't resist. He managed to smile and, to his surprise, realized that he didn't have to try very hard.

Next ride up was Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Jane had never really understood why little children seemed to love this ride so much. Maybe it was the sense of control they got from being able to fly high or low. Maybe it was the sensation of flying. Whatever it was, it never ceased to amaze him. They stood in line, Anastasia talking nonstop to Lisbon, which seemed to be the normal way of things. Jane watched the families around them. He saw mothers with sons and fathers with daughters. He saw families, happy families, all around him. It hadn't bothered him yesterday, but here, today, it was starting to get to him. He looked away from the other happy families and looked back at the family he was with. Watching them, he realized how happy they were. Would it be possible to be happy and still remember?

Lisbon was watching Jane out of the corner of her eye. He had been much quieter than normal the whole morning and she was wondering if this had been such a good idea. She should have encouraged him to just spend the day alone—not with her and Anastasia. It was almost their turn to board the ride. She turned to tell Jane that she would go on the ride with Anastasia again when the little girl spoke first.

"Uncle Jane, would you ride with me?" She gave him a sweet smile.

Jane looked a little shocked at first, but nodded. He took her hand and helped her onto the ride. Lisbon decided to wait for them and pulled out her camera. She took pictures of them every time they passed by and was surprised to see that the longer the ride went on, the happier he seemed to be.

"What do you want to do next?" Lisbon asked Anastasia when the ride was over.

"Tea Cups!" She said, bouncing up and down slightly. At the same time Jane said "Lunch".

"I think tea cups first, then lunch. I don't want to pay for lunch and then just throw it all up." Lisbon said, looking at Jane.

"Fine, fine, you're the boss." He joked, giving her a killer smile. Lisbon looked at him with her brows furrowed, it was his first joke since they got here and it seemed a little odd. She decided to ignore it and headed off for the tea cups.

She never would have guessed that her sweet little niece would be a thrill junky—admittedly a minor one, but it was under her direction that they spun the tea cup as fast as it would go, laughing the whole time. When the ride was over they were all so dizzy that they could barely walk.

"Ooh, hats!" said Jane when he was able to walk upright again.

"I want a hat! Aunt Teresa, will you get me a hat?" Anastasia was once again bouncing up and down giving her puppy dog look to her aunt this time.

"Alright, let's see what we can find." They walked towards the Mad Hatter and had fun trying on all the funny hats. They ended up all getting Mickey Ears. Jane and Lisbon had regular ears, but Anastasia went for the Minnie variety.

They went on the rest of the rides in Fantasyland, only then remembering that Jane had wanted lunch. They ate pizza and got ice cream as they walked around, eventually finding themselves standing in front of the jungle cruise. Lisbon knew for sure then that he was in a better mood than he had been in the afternoon when both he and Anastasia joined forces to get her to go on the ride.

"It's not that I don't like the Jungle Cruise. It's just that the jokes are so corny." Lisbon said in protest as they stood in line. Jane smiled at her.

"Did you know that the 'cruise directors' originally followed a script? It was a very strict script of what they were supposed to say, until Walt Disney overheard some guests saying that they didn't need to go on the jungle cruise because they had heard it before. After that they were allowed to improvise." Jane looked at Lisbon, expecting her to say something. Instead she just rolled her eyes at him.

"It never ceases to amaze me: all the useless facts you know. It's a wonder there's room up there for anything else." She tapped him on the side of his head. He quickly ducked away. "What? Did you think I was going to hit you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Jane mumbled under his breath, slightly rubbing his head where she had touched it and ushering them onto the cruise. Anastasia loved the ride. She laughed at all of the stupid jokes and at the silly animatronics animals. When they got off the ride Jane continued to do impressions of the tour guide for Anastasia's amusement—and Lisbon's, though she wouldn't admit it.

Lisbon was getting ready to tell Jane to tone it down a little bit (they were attracting an audience) when she saw a ride she wanted to go on. "Come on, Anastasia. I think you're going to like this ride." Lisbon said, walking towards it. Jane quickly noticed that he had lost his companions and followed behind them.

"Are you sure we should take her on this ride, Lisbon? I mean, it can be a little scary." Jane said. Lisbon looked over at him with a curious look in her face.

"No, I think it will be fine. I know she's seen the movies, all of them, and I love this ride. Besides, we took the boys on Star Tours yesterday and this isn't any worse than that." Jane still looked doubtful, but Lisbon just ignored him. Instead she talked to Anastasia about the movies and which one was her favorite. Jane did what would be called sulking on most people, but on him was more of a casual indifference.

They boarded the ride and Lisbon noticed that Jane was looking even more nervous than before. "Are you ok?" She asked, actually concerned this time.

"I'm fine." He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Lisbon and Anastasia were both enjoying the ride when Lisbon felt a gentle pressure on her hand. She looked down and noticed Jane was squeezing her hand with his eyes shut. Before she could ask him what was wrong she heard the recorded Indy voice on the ride say "Snakes, why does it always have to be snakes?"

She couldn't help it. She had to laugh. Jane was afraid of snakes. She never would have guessed—and they weren't even real. Who knew that he would have something in common with Indiana Jones besides the good looks? She decided not to say anything about his fear now, but instead would wait until it was the most opportune time, just to throw him off guard.

Anastasia loved the ride so much that they decided to go on it again. Well, to be honest, Lisbon and Anastasia went on the ride again. Jane decided to wait outside for them—something about a queasy stomach.

"Uncle Patrick, Uncle Patrick!" Anastasia called as they came walking out of the ride. "Aunt Teresa told me about another ride we can go on without snakes. Let's go, come on!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling in the direction that Lisbon had pointed out to her.

"No snakes? Who said I had a problem with snakes?" Jane asked, glaring at Lisbon as he allowed himself to be pulled along.

"Aunt Teresa. She said you had your eyes closed when we went by the snakes and that's why you didn't want to go back on the ride. Now hurry up! It's almost time to meet Mom and Dad." Jane just shook his head at her. The honesty of small children always amazed him. He would have to remember to give Lisbon a hard time about it later.

The Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road was not where Jane thought they were going to end up, but he did enjoy the ride. It was more of the traditional roller coaster that people expect when they go to an amusement park. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he talked Lisbon into going on it one more time. Of course he didn't have to try very hard.

They headed out of the park at that point. It was time to get Anastasia back with the others so they could go to dinner. Standing outside the hotel room waiting for Andy and Andrea to get back with the boys, Anastasia turned and looked at Jane.

"Uncle Patrick, I'm glad you're dating my aunty. Cause I really like you." She said, giving him a big hug around the waist. Jane bent down and hugged her back.

"I really like you, too." He said, the emotion evident in his voice. By this time the rest of Lisbon's family had shown up. Anastasia gave him a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as they headed towards Denny's for the third time that week for dinner.

"They have got to get a little variety in their lives." Jane said as they watched them go.

"That was very sweet of you." Lisbon said to him.

"I actually thought it was slightly funny, but whatever." He said turning to her slightly.

"You know what I mean Jane. With Anastasia right then. It was very sweet."

"You sound surprised." He said. Not waiting for her to respond, he asked, "How about we go to Disneyland for dinner tonight? Then you can get some of that shopping done that you've been wanting to do all week. Really, the team won't mind if you don't bring them anything. They probably wouldn't know the difference."

"I still want to do some shopping, Jane." Lisbon said, not bothering to ask how he knew that she wanted to do shopping. They spent the rest of the night at Disneyland, shopping and just walking around, looking at all of the people who were there.

Back at the hotel that night Lisbon again decided that Jane deserved to sleep in the bed—though on top of the covers again. He had done really well with Anastasia today and she knew it had been hard for him. She was laying in the dark, thinking about the day and how hard it had been on him at first when Jane interrupted her thoughts by laying a hand on her arm.

"Lisbon, are you still awake?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked, rolling on her side to face him.

"I wanted to say thank you." He said, not moving his hand from her arm.

"For what? Letting you sleep in the bed?" She was trying to keep the mood light. She wasn't used to being so close to Jane in such an intimate situation.

"Well, yes, for not making me sleep on the floor, but also for today. No, let me finish. I know you knew I was…apprehensive about today, to say the least. I was scared, really. I didn't want to spend time with another little girl, make memories with someone that wasn't my own daughter, but that reminded me of my own. It was like everywhere I turned I saw her, remembered her and the first time we were at Disneyland. She was about Anastasia's age and it was just magical. And then we were on Dumbo and I remembered how much she had loved that ride and I realized that it didn't matter if I was with another little girl. I still have all of the memories of my daughter. I'll never forget her. I'll never replace her. That just wouldn't be possible. I wouldn't have realized that if you had made me leave that first day when I showed up unannounced. So, thank you."

Lisbon didn't say anything for a few minutes, looking at him through the darkness of the room. "Your welcome just sounds so cold at a time like this. I'm glad you had a good time. I did, too. I'm happy that I was able to help a little bit." She reached up and squeezed the hand that was resting on her arm. "Good night, Jane. Sleep well."

She turned back over to face away from him again. He didn't pull his hand away, but instead moved slightly towards her. Lisbon thought of protesting, but knew the day had been long and it felt nice. Not that she would say that out loud. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. Jane stayed awake for a little while longer. He waited until Lisbon's breathing slowed, signaling that she was in a deep sleep. When he was certain that there was no danger of her waking he pulled her to him slightly and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He knew he would be sleeping well tonight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY COW! I cannot believe the response I got to the last chapter. I swear it seems like I got more reviews for chapter 7 than I did for all the other chapters combined. I know I didn't, but that's just what it seems like. And I just have to share (I may have already, but I don't care) my sister just found out she's pregnant, after two years of trying, I'm going to be an aunt again! Thanks to every one who reviewed and offered opinions. And as always a great big thank you to Ebony 10 for the great job betaing.

Jane woke up slowly, which was unusual. Normally he woke with a start, from bad dreams or just from the shock that he had been asleep, but this morning (and it was morning—he could tell by the shade of light coming through the cracks in the cheap hotel blinds) he woke slowly. It took him a minute to figure out why it was that he slept so soundly last night, why it was that he felt so warm and cozy this morning. He was lying on his side facing the door of the hotel room. Lisbon, he knew, was sleeping on the other side of him. He was facing away from her.

He felt a gentle warmth on his back and a slight weight on his side. He was not sure, but he thought that Lisbon might be—well, holding was not the right word, but it was close enough. She was holding him. In her sleep, of course. He could tell by her breathing that she was still sleeping. He didn't want to wake her up, but he knew that if she woke to find that she was the one holding him this time, she would die from embarrassment and all the "progress" they made the day before would be lost today in her embarrassment and inability to meet his gaze.

Jane slowly turned over so that he was facing her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He noticed for the first time the slight pink tinge to the tip of her nose and realized that she must have gotten slightly sunburned the day before. He had the urge to reach down and give her burned nose a kiss to make it feel better. It was a little game he used to play with his daughter. Every time she would bump her knee or her elbow or her nose, she would come running to him and ask for a kiss to make it all better.

Jane wondered slightly what Lisbon would say if she woke up to him kissing her nose and, instead of dwelling on it, he put his arms around her and pulled her close to him, cradling her head just below his chin so that if he wanted he could rest his chin on the top of her head. He carefully smoothed the back of her hair down and then closed his eyes. Her family wanted to spend the day at Disneyland (just the five of them) so he had Lisbon to himself the whole day. She could use the sleep so he wasn't going to wake her.

An hour later, Jane realized that he had dozed off again. The whole sleeping with Lisbon thing was going to become a hard habit to break if he didn't stop soon. In a way, he was glad that this was their last day at Disneyland. He wouldn't have to be tempted anymore. He looked down at her and realized that while they were both sleeping she had turned over so that she now had her back to him. It was a much more intimate position than they were in before and, before he could do anything stupid (like pull her closer and never let her go again), he jumped out of bed. He didn't care if he woke her up at this point. It was long past the time for the free breakfast offered by the hotel and if they didn't get a move on soon they would have spent the whole day in bed. Not that that would be a bad thing…No! She was just a good friend.

He quickly grabbed his last clean outfit out of his bag and went into the bathroom. Lisbon heard the shower turn on and sat up, sighing. She had been enjoying herself. Unlike yesterday, when she woke up today and realized that Jane had his arms around her, she had decided to enjoy it. It wasn't very often that she got to spend time in the warm embrace of a man she cared for. She was almost disappointed when he woke up and realized what he was doing. It had seemed almost like he was scared of the intimate way they had been laying. Not wanting to think about it anymore, she turned on the TV to see what type of mindless dribble the Disney Company was trying to sell to children at this time of the morning.

After realizing that they were indeed showing an all-day Hannah Montana marathon, Lisbon decided that nothing was better than that and turned off the TV. She sat on the bed staring at the blank TV as she listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom. Jane's pleasing tenor voice singing (something she noticed he did a lot), the water running, the sound of the fan sucking the steam out of the bathroom. The water stopped and with it the sound of Jane's voice. Lisbon contemplated getting out of bed at this point, or at least turning on the TV (surely there were other shows on), but she realized she didn't want to.

She was still sitting there staring at the blank screen when Jane came out of the bathroom. He stood off to the side of the bed for a few minutes, out of her direct line of sight. She could tell he was there, but not what he was doing or wearing. "I hope you have clothes on." She said without turning her head.

Not bothering to respond to her words, Jane said, "Is the TV really that interesting?"

Lisbon turned her head towards him to give a witty retort, but the words died on her lips. "What do you know?" she said after a few seconds. "You really do own shorts." He was wearing a pair of dark wash denim shorts. They were remarkably unfussy, much like the pants and jeans he had worn the rest of the week. And today, instead of a button up shirt, he was sporting a white t-shirt with Mickey Mouse on it.

"What do you think? Casual enough for a day at Disneyland with a friend?" Jane asked, leaning against the wall behind him.

"Yeah, that works great." Lisbon decided that it was a good time to get up. Things were starting to get a little awkward. "I'm just going to get ready. Then how about we get some breakfast?"

"Sounds good." He said with a slight half smile as she walked past. Jane had big plans for today. He wanted to go on all the roller coasters that they hadn't had a chance to go on with the kids. He was thinking that they should do the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and...what else was there? He was still thinking when Lisbon came out of the bathroom, her hair hanging in damp curls around her shoulders. It didn't matter how many times he had seen her this way—he still couldn't get over how beautiful she was.

"We should go on the Matterhorn today." She said, turning to face the mirror. She decided not to blow-dry her hair and instead just pulled it back into a ponytail.

"That's the one I couldn't remember." Jane said, Jumping up from where he sat. "I've got it all mapped out. Let's go!" He was excited. This was what he had been waiting for the whole week: a day alone with Lisbon.

They decided to grab breakfast in the park and headed out. To Lisbon's surprise, there was almost no wait at the small restaurant that they went to. They ordered waffles with whipped cream and chocolate milk. Lisbon felt a little silly ordering something that a child would, but Jane seemed to be enjoying it so she forced herself to relax.

They were storing her backpack in a locker for the day when Lisbon noticed Jane staring at her face. "What?" she asked, wiping a hand over her mouth, thinking that maybe she had a little whipped cream still on her face.

"Your nose," He said, reaching out and almost touching it. "Did you bring your sunscreen today?"

Lisbon felt herself starting to blush. She had forgotten to reapply her sunscreen halfway through the day yesterday and had noticed that her nose was a little redder than normal. "Yeah, I already put it on at the hotel." She said, shoving her backpack into the locker and grabbing her camera.

"So I was thinking that first we should head towards the Haunted Mansion. What do you think?" Jane asked as they strolled down Main Street. Jane was walking with his hands clasped behind his back and was half tempted to reach over and grab Lisbon's hand.

"That sounds good." She said. They took their time getting to the Haunted Mansion. There was really no rush today. They laughed at the pet cemetery outside of the mansion and couldn't help but realize that the only people who were scared on this ride were the small children. The spent more time trying to point out all of the scenes that had been in the movie based on the ride than actually being scared.

The next ride they headed to was Splash Mountain. Jane spent a lot of time looking at the people who were dropping off the edge of the ride. "Trying to figure out what's going through their heads at that final moment?" Lisbon asked him teasingly.

"Yes actually. It's fascinating to look at their faces and try to figure out which ones are scared and which ones are in it for the thrill. Tell me, Lisbon. Are you scared or are you in it for the thrill?" He looked at her with his trademark big grin on his face.

"Oh, the thrill. Definitely." She said exaggeratedly. They got closer to the front of the line and the music could be heard on speakers.

"Did you know that "Song of the South" is one of the only Disney films to never have been released in its full form?" Jane asked her with his annoying 'I know more than you' look.

"I didn't know that, but how is it relevant to this ride?" Lisbon asked, trying to keep the smirk off her own face.

"This ride is loosely based on the stories in the movie." He couldn't help grinning widely at her. He loved showing off in front of her. It was juvenile, yes, but he knew she liked it even if she said she didn't. The wait wasn't very much longer and, with only a little prodding from Jane, Lisbon agreed to sit in the front of the boat with him.

"This is crazy," Lisbon said as they went around the first bend and water sloshed over the side into the boat. Her feet were completely soaked and they hadn't even gone over the plunge. "I hope you get as wet as I'm about to, Jane, or we're going on this ride again and you're going to sit in front of me."

"I thought you said you were in this for the thrill, Lisbon." Jane said quietly, leaning forward so that he could whisper in her ear. "Don't worry. If I don't get wet, I'll let you push me in the Rivers of America." He sat back and laughed slightly.

When the time came for them to go over the waterfall, Lisbon leaned back and down slightly in an attempt to get more water to hit Jane. It worked and they both got off the ride completely soaked from head to toe.

"Well," Jane said, sitting on a bench outside the ride, "At least we don't have to worry about getting too hot today." He looked over at Lisbon who was taking off her shoes and wringing out her socks. "Don't worry, we'll dry out eventually." Lisbon just shook her head at him, trying to keep the smile off her face, but not succeeding.

"Yes, I suppose that we will dry eventually, but unless you are willing to buy me a dry shirt we're going to have to go back to the hotel." Lisbon said, standing up. Jane looked at her and forced himself to look away again. The plain white t-shirt she was wearing was wet enough to be see through. Jane was half tempted to tell her not to worry, that it would dry, and that she looked just fine that way, but he knew that she would hurt him if he did.

"Let me get you a new shirt. I'm the one who wanted to sit up in the front." He said, standing and walking to the closest gift shop to see what type of shirt he could get for her. He quickly picked out a tank top with a Mickey Mouse on it that matched the one on his shirt. She changed in the bathroom and came out with her wet shirt in the bag that the new one had come in.

"We should head back to the locker so you can put sunscreen on your shoulders. Your skin is far too delicate for the amount of sun that we'll get today." Jane said, reaching up and brushing a hand against her shoulder.

"Um, thanks for the concern." Lisbon said, feeling herself blush. "I tend to get a little freckly if I get to much sun." She didn't know why she told him and hurried off to keep him from noticing her slight embarrassment. They did go back to the locker and Lisbon begrudgingly allowed Jane to apply the sunscreen to her shoulders. She disliked the feeling she got when he touched her—no, disliked was the wrong word. She was uncomfortable with the feelings she got when he touched her and was afraid he would be able to tell so as soon as he was done, she pulled away.

"Where should we go now?" Lisbon asked as they exited the building with the lockers in it.

"How about some lunch? There's a little place in New Orleans square that has the best clam chowder soup bowls." Jane said, walking down the street.

"Isn't it a little warm for soup?" She teased him.

"It's chowder and no, it's not. Besides, it's really good and not that expensive for Disneyland."

They arrived at the small windows through which they ordered their food and Lisbon balked at paying $8.00 for a bowl of soup. She had to admit, though, that it was good and in the end it was less than she had spent on a lunch the entire week.

"I was thinking the Matterhorn then Space Mountain and I'd love to get some more shopping done before we have to leave. We're not actually going to be in the park tomorrow and I still owe A.J. something worth $100 for beating you at the Autopia." Lisbon said as they threw away their trash and started walking again.

"Sounds good to me. Two rides should give us plenty of time to get back over to this side of the park for dinner." He was tempted to put his arm around her shoulder, but resisted. He didn't want her to break it.

"Why would we come back here for dinner?" She asked.

"It's a surprise." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She just rolled her eyes and walked faster.

They stood in the line for the Matterhorn. For the most part they were silent, but occasionally they talked. "I always hated riding this with my brothers." Lisbon said as they watched the bobsleds speed past.

"Why?" Jane asked, looking over at her.

"The short person always rides in front and you have to slide as far back as you can in the ride. It's just a little uncomfortable to ride in the lap of your brother, that's all." She was getting flustered and was sorry that she had brought it up. Now Jane would think that she would be uncomfortable practically sitting in his lap on this ride.

When they got to the front of the line the woman loading the ride gave them the option of riding in separate cars, but Jane quickly said that they would ride together. Really, he did it just to watch her blush and he was indeed rewarded with her bright red cheeks that had nothing to do with the sun. They had a lot of fun on the ride and, despite her mild embarrassment when loading, Lisbon didn't mind sitting so close to Jane on the ride.

They went over to Space Mountain next and again stood in line talking occasionally. Lisbon found that she liked not feeling like she had to speak every minute to fill the silence. She found that she liked just being there with him, not having to worry about putting on the face of the tough boss.

"Did you know-" Jane started and Lisbon rolled her eyes. More Disney trivia. Jane just ignored her. "Did you know that the lights are what really make this ride? If you close your eyes on this ride, it's just like going around in a big circle. It's not nearly as fun. Same as if the music goes out—just not as fun."

"Really? Have you done it before?" Lisbon thought about the last time she had been on the ride and realized that he was probably right.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I have done it before. It really wastes the hour or two you spend waiting in line." He laughed at the exasperated expression on her face.

When they got on the ride, Lisbon was half tempted to close her eyes on the ride to see if Jane was right, but decided not to as she didn't want to spend another two hours in line. When they got off the ride, it was indeed almost time for dinner. They slowly made their way back to New Orleans Square where, to Lisbon's surprise, they went to the only fine dining restaurant inside of Disneyland, Blue Bayou.

The food was nice and it wasn't nearly as noisy as she thought it was going to be, even with all the people waiting in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean. They both decided on the Jambalaya and ate in silence. Lisbon was really enjoying herself until she noticed Jane was staring at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, just…nothing" Jane said, looking away slightly.

"Did I get sunburned again? It hasn't been that long since I reapplied my sunscreen and that was after I got all wet." She reached up to feel her cheeks to see if they felt warm.

"No. No sunburn, just a few freckles, that's all. It's cute." She felt her cheeks getting hot now.

"Thanks, I think." She mumbled into her food.

They finished eating and headed back to Main Street to do some shopping. Jane didn't seem to buy anything, but Lisbon managed to get things for everyone in the unit. T-shirts much like the one Jane was wearing for Rigsby and Cho and a tank top much like the one she was wearing for Van Pelt. She also picked out small gifts for her niece and nephews and a nice pair of Mickey earrings for her sister.

"What are you going to get A.J.?" asked Jane when Lisbon had paid at the last store. She had purchased a new coffee mug for herself and one for Minnelli.

"I don't know. I'm thinking I might just give him the cash and let him decided what to get himself." She said while looking through yet another store.

"Won't that make your brother mad?" He asked.

"Probably, but that's ok. I'm the aunt. That's what I'm here for." She smiled slightly at that and just kept shopping. It seemed to Jane that they spent hours shopping. Lisbon was picking out gifts for upcoming birthdays and Christmas too. When she was finally done and they were heading back to the hotel, both Jane and Lisbon had their arms full of bags.

"I always hate having to go back to work after a vacation." Lisbon said, sitting on her bed in her pajamas. She was going through the bags that they had brought back from the park, sorting them into what needed to go where.

"It's like you don't want it to end." Jane said, agreeing with her as he sat on the other side of the bed. He turned the TV on and sat there looking at the screen as a made-for-TV movie on the Disney Channel played. He wasn't really watching it, but actually watching her out of the corner of his eye. He smiled when he heard her gasp.

"What's this?" She asked, holding up a small box.

"I thought it might be nice if someone got something for you. Think of it as a thank you for not kicking me out the first day when I showed up. You didn't have to let me stay and I'm glad that you did." He was still staring at the screen, but could tell that what he had said had made an impact. Without warning, she reached over and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you. They're gorgeous." She whispered in his ear before letting him go.

"Are you actually going to keep them this time?" He asked, chuckling slightly to try to alleviate some of the tension he was feeling inside.

She playfully swatted him on the arm as she got off the bed and went to stand in front of the mirror. "These are nowhere near as expensive as the last earrings you bought me. I think I like them more, really." She pulled a pair of dangling earrings out of the box and put them in her ears. They were chains of small Mickey heads in what looked like emerald, with a slightly larger one at the bottom. "Now, whenever I want to remember this trip I just have to put these on. Much easier than a t-shirt, really. I can wear these to work."

"I'm glad you like them." Jane called to her from the bed. He had removed all of the bags and was trying to get comfortable on the top of the blanket.

"You know, you pull on the blankets when you sleep on top of them. Why don't you just sleep under the covers tonight?" She was slightly nervous about suggesting it, although she didn't know why. They were just friends. At the look on his face, she added, "Just no funny business, got it?"

Jane nodded and readjusted himself on the bed, holding up the covers for her to slide under. She turned out the light and turned off the TV before climbing into bed with him. "Good night, Jane." She said, snuggling under the covers and facing away from him.

"Good night." He replied quietly, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He didn't know if he would be able to sleep tonight. She was just too close. He waited until he was sure she was asleep before rolling over to his side and pulling her to him. He knew she would probably classify this as 'funny business,' but didn't care. He liked the feel of her body against his and, even though he had managed to hold her close while they were sleeping before, there was just something different about holding her close with nothing but their thin pajamas between them.

Trying not to think about what it meant that he wanted to hold her and never let her go, he placed a tender kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes. He would get to sleep if it took him all night.

This was definitely a vacation to remember.


End file.
